PESTS 39 



A COCONUT PEST 

 By L. C. Brown, Inspector of Coconuts 



" Fortunately the coconut trees grown in the 

 Straits and Federated Malay States do not 

 appear to suffer from the disastrous effects of 

 certain pests to the same extent as in many 

 other countries. Take, for instance, the ' leaf 

 disease ' ; it is always amongst us but does 

 little or no harm to the trees, and again the 

 ' bleeding disease ' and ' dry rot ' are practically 

 unknown here. Whether this is due to more 

 favourable climatic conditions or better cultiva- 

 tion it is difficult to say ; at the same time it 

 is undoubtedly the case that by a thorough 

 attention to the culture of the palm, a great 

 deal can be done to resist the pests and minimize 

 the harm being done by them. The 'leaf 

 disease ' admittedly confirms this view, and from 

 my own experience, I have no hesitation in 

 saying that so far as 'beetles' are concerned, 

 these insects seldom if ever attack or penetrate 

 into the cabbage of a strong, healthy and well- 

 developed tree ; in other words, a tree that has 

 been carefully cultured has the power of resisting 

 most pests. 



" Notwithstanding the fact that the coconuts 

 grown in the Straits and Federated Malay 

 States are apparently more immune from some 

 pests than is the case in other countries, it is 

 still disquieting to learn that now another pest 



